1. Statement of the Technical Field
The inventive arrangements relate to a dual gain radio antenna, particularly for handheld use.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the area of handheld radio communications, a task often faced by RF antenna designers is to provide an antenna that offers sufficient antenna gain without sacrificing operating bandwidth. To achieve such a two-fold objective, a physically large antenna has often been required. Examples of conventional solutions to this problem include various types of antenna devices such as fold-out crossed dipole antennas and dish antennas.
While such antennas are capable of providing enough gain in a particular radiating direction, their large and bulky design hinders their application for handheld use. In the area of military operations, for instance, there is a present need for both ground and satellite communications. Providing such dual use within a handheld device while maintaining a rugged low-profile design can be difficult.
Satellite communication devices typically require a high gain. Ground communications, on the other hand, do not necessarily require such high gain. It is well known in the art that different antennas or combination of antennas may have different load impedances. It is also known that impedance matching circuits are commonly implemented to facilitate the maximum amount of signal power transfer between an antenna and a transceiver.
Therefore, what is needed is a handheld radio antenna that can satisfy both satellite and ground communication antenna gain requirements. Such a device should be low-profile in design and include a control means for selectively providing the correct impedance matching network depending on what type of antenna (and hence communication use) is required.